As witches, we are deeply connected to the natural world around us so I’m sure many of you, like me, are personally feeling the devastation of the fires in Australia.

If you are friends with me on Facebook you might already know that my family has been affected. My Dad lives in one of the areas that have been fighting the fires. He had to evacuate his home and drive hours away. He stayed in an evacuation shelter one night. There was no power so if you didn’t have cash, you couldn’t buy petrol for the car. The skies were red and full of smoke. It was a scary time and for now, he is a lucky one. Yesterday he was able to return home and find it still standing. Others haven’t been so lucky.

Farms have been lost, which will take time to recover. Hundreds of thousands of people are breathing in ash and smoke daily. It is a living nightmare and the worst is yet to come as the country enters into the hottest months of summer, during the hottest summer on record.

The biggest tragedy is the devastation of the local wildlife. It’s estimated half a billion animals have perished. My beautiful country has lost ⅓ of the habitat for its incredible animals.

Sadly, the federal government is conservative and denying it has anything to do with climate change, which is infuriating. So it’s up to us as witches who are the caretakers of the earth and global citizens to help do what we can.

So here’s a list of some of the things we can do, if you have suggestions, comment below, or send me messages and I’ll add them.

*** I’m currently running an auction with two out of print First Edition Tarot Decks to raise money for WIRES, the Wildlife Rescue organization that is trying to save as many animals as possible during the Australian bushfires and severe drought. If you are interested, find out more here ***

1. Donate Money

They mention the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital which my stepmother worked at for years. I’ve been there personally and they are doing great work to help preserve the dwindling numbers of koalas.

2. Organize a fundraiser

I’ve seen so many different ways that people are raising funds. From donating a portion of their profits, to organizing a bake sale or event with their local communities.

It’s good to see that celebrities are doing their part too. Australian Comedian Celeste Barber has a Fundraiser for NSW Rural Fire Service (currently at $40M) and Ellen Degeneres just launched her own. Elton John and Chris Hemsworth have each donated $1M. There is even a model offering nudes to fundraise and she’s raised over $700K. Selena Gomez donated $500K.

I’d love to hear your ideas for fundraisers.

3. Educate yourself

There is so much bullshit on the Internet, it’s important to be aware of what is real and what a scam to make sure that we don’t propagate the crap.

A couple of days ago people sharing an article dancing about rain. The article was months old. The reason this is damaging is that it makes people think that things are getting better when they are in fact getting worse. January and February are Australia’s hottest months so as I mentioned earlier, the worst is yet to come.

Before you share something, check the source to make sure it’s a reliable one. Check the date to make sure it’s current. If in doubt check Snopes.com.

4. Be an advocate for the earth

Every day I open Facebook and it breaks my heart to see and hear what is going on it Australia. And then I scroll a bit and see all the mundane things people are talking about and I wonder how we can do this? How can we compartmentalize our lives like this?

We need to start putting pressure on governments to force climate reform. I’m not an expert in this area and have to learn how to be better. If you have any information on how to do this, please let me know.

5. Offset your carbon emissions to become carbon neutral

I know that many of us are already trying to make changes in our life and it’s not about being perfect, but everything we do makes a difference.

You might not already know but for as little as $11 a month, you can offset your emissions. I started doing this in 2019.

6. Work your magic

You can set an altar to help the land heal and send rain to Australia. No storms, just a good solid drenching rain. Send some distance healing.

All this helps. But sadly, the truth is right now, the most potent magic is money.

7. Support the Australian Economy

The local businesses in Australia need to be supported so their communities can recover. A great place to start is Buy From The Bush, an eCommerce site showcasing Aussie businesses.

Here is what team Ethony is doing

We will update this more as we continue to add more of what we have done.

I’m auctioning off two brand new out of print decks to raise money for WIRES. Find out more here.

We are involved in a local fundraiser at a local theatre in Vancouver. Specifically, we are going to local businesses for items for a silent auction. Will update later with how much we raised.

Personally offset for four tonnes of CO2 emissions a month and our goal is for our business to become carbon neutral.

We each made a personal donation to the NSW Rural Fire Services.

We will be donating 5% of our business earnings for January 2020

We also made two donations to the #teamtrees team last month, it’s not in Australia but by golly does Gaia need all the trees she can get, especially now.

I know I have been going from overwhelmed, angry and very sad about what is happening back home. I go from not being able to express how I feel into anger at the government in Australia and the world for not doing more to fight for our earth. Then into grieving the loss for life. The Australian wildlife is spectacular, the magic deep and we have lost so much of it.